REVIEW - DOG MAN: THE MUSICAL
- 35 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Pawsome Off-Broadway Adaptation Brings Dav Pilkey Bestsellers to Life
Dog Man has gone from page to stage in this high energy new musical, with the wit, colour, heart and creativity that have made Dav Pilkey's graphic novels a smash hit with children.
Perhaps the most surprising element, is the extraordinary calibre of the cast's vocals and stage presence.
Sure, they're dressed as villainous cats, fish and human-dog hybrids, but their soaring vocals of Brad Alexander's catchy numbers match any of the leading West End stars.
Children's theatre is often more challenging than adult productions - kids are the toughest critics and parents also need to be entertained.
This musical delivers in spades, with gags for the big dogs and mega-lols for the pups, keeping everybody engaged for its 1 hour 40 run time.
True to the books, it opens in the vibrant, cartoon-style tree house of best friends Harold and George, who decide to turn their Dog Man comic books into a musical - as the duo wryly comment, "they'll turn anything into a musical, these days."
With the head of a dog and body of a policeman, the furniture chewing hero battles to save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish and his army of Beasty Buildings, and catch evil cat Petey, who has cloned himself to exact revenge on the doggy do-gooder.
The show is narrated by Harold and George in a simple but clever set, which transforms into different comic strip locations, with fun props, and puppetry.
There is a stand-out performance from Sam Kipling as evil Petey, with fantastic vocals and brilliantly cartoonish, feline physicality.
Rebecca-Jo Roberts is a purr-fect Li'l Petey, belting out numbers in a high energy performance.
And while his dog head renders him mute, Dog Man is brought to life - literally in the Frankenstein-esque scene - by Renan Teodoro, with brilliant clowning, dancing and facial expressions.
If you have a child aged 6 to 12, we're quietly confident they are already Dog Man mega-fans who will lap up this adaptation.
Photo credits: Mark Senior
Dog Man: The Musical is on tour throughout the UK and currently showing at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre until 16 August.
Tickets from £31/pp
For ages 5+
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